


To the Bitter End

by brokenangel (lovelornwolf)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 09:46:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelornwolf/pseuds/brokenangel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is compromised, and Dean is forced to take steps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To the Bitter End

**Author's Note:**

> Major character death! Major spoilers for S08E11: Torn and Frayed. Also this is terrible, don't read it.
> 
> Based on [this post by freckledbuttchester](http://freckledbuttchester.tumblr.com/post/41063908378/what-if-cas-died-in-deans-arms-and-he-had) and [this image by hollyoakhill](http://hollyoakhill.tumblr.com/post/41111198636/freckledbuttchester-what-if-cas-died-in-deans) on Tumblr.

At first Dean didn’t understand what he was looking at. Castiel crouched against the Impala, Samandriel slumped in his arms. Castiel’s angel-killing blade covered in blood.

“Cas!” Sam said. “What the hell happened?”

Castiel raised his head. "He was compromised.” He looked lost and bereft, like he'd just lost a friend. "Thank you. Both. For everything you've done."

"Cas!" Dean said, but it was to empty air. Castiel was gone, and so was Samandriel's body.

Dean and Sam shared a look. Who knew what "compromised" meant for an angel? Samandriel had suffered in Crowley's tender care for a while, it was obvious. Maybe the demon had managed to fuck the angel up deep inside, driven him crazy. They'd dealt with an insane angel in the past, and it hadn't been pretty.

But it quickly became clear that Samandriel wasn't the only angel who had been compromised. A week later, Castiel appeared in the backseat of the Impala.

“Cas?” Dean said.

Without a word, Castiel flung out an arm and smacked his palm against the back of Sam’s head. Angelic light illuminated Sam’s body, and he convulsed before slumping unconscious in his seat.

Dean couldn’t believe his eyes. The car fishtailed as he pulled off the road. He shook Sam’s body, but there was no response. He seemed to be breathing, but only barely.

“You _smote_ him,” Dean said.

“He was compromised,” Cas said. “The demon taint inside him.” He smiled his guileless smile at Dean. “But I was given power from Heaven to remove the taint. He’s pure, now.” And the angel was gone again.

Sam didn’t wake up. His breathing got stronger, and he would flinch away from pain. But otherwise he was completely unresponsive.

Dean drove him to a hospital, but they told him that Sam had a damaged brain stem and most likely would never wake up. They transferred Sam to a nursing home, and Dean got in the habit of visiting whenever he was in the neighborhood. But after three months he no longer had any hope of getting his brother back.

* * *

He was alone in the cabin, scrubbing the last of the angel-repelling sigils from the wall. He dropped the brush and looked at the ceiling.

“Castiel!” he shouted. “You son of a bitch, Cas, get down here right now.”

Castiel appeared. He smiled when he saw Dean.

“I’m sorry, Dean. I am very busy doing the work of Heaven.” His eyes were alight with fervent madness. “This world must be purified," he said. A bead of blood welled up in the corner of his eye and ran down beside his nose. “I can’t stay.”

“You know I love it when you talk that way,” Dean said, and pulled Castiel in for a kiss.

The angel responded for a few seconds, lips soft and pliable, even kissing back, but then he pulled away, a frightened look on his face. “Dean, you know I love you, but this is impurity.”

“Of course,” Dean said. “I . . . lost control. It won’t happen again.” He hid the blade he’d lifted from Castiel’s trenchcoat behind his back.

The angel turned, glancing around the room. “I must—I must leave,” he said.

“Can I at least have a hug before you go?”

Dean wrapped his arms around Castiel from behind, chin bent over his shoulder. Tears falling to stain the angel's trenchcoat. Castiel bowed his head, but he allowed the embrace.

"You stupid angel," Dean said. "I love you."

“I love you too, Dean.”

 And Dean plunged the angel-killing blade into Cas's heart.

There was a loud crackle of energy and then he was drowning in a sea of feathers. They tore at him as they billowed and surged, setting him on fire; he opened him mouth to shout and the feathers were gone. Cas sagged boneless in his grip, the blade still lodged under his ribcage. Dean lowered the angel's body to the ground and hissed in pain. The front of Dean's jacket was charred and smoking, and he gagged at the stench of cooked flesh. He put his hands over his face and wept for the angel who had raised him from Perdition. For what might have been.

When the tears were drained out of him he stood up and pulled his jacket open, wincing as the fabric caught on his blistered skin. That would scar, he thought dimly. No time for first aid, though.

"Cas," he said. "I don't know where you are now. If there's a heaven for angels that die, or if you're just gone. But I'll never forget you." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed. "Hey, Benny. Long time no see. Are you up to anything right now? It’s just, I suddenly have a war against Heaven to fight, and I could use a little backup.”


End file.
